Writing — 09-12: Conducting Research Projects

I have my topic and I know how it is connected to the NHD theme. What do I do next? Build historical context by reading different types of sources...

The purpose of this set of guidelines is to provide a positively oriented set of practical suggestions for maintaining integrity in research. Not only does the ethical conduct of science satisfy a scientific moral code; it also leads to better scientific results because the adherence to ethical research practices leads to more attention to the details of scientific research, including qualitative analysis and quantitative and statistical techniques, and to more thoughtful collaboration among investigators. Also, the credibility of science with the general public depends on the maintenance of the highest ethical standards in research.

When you are involved in conducting a research project, you generally go through the steps described below, either formally or informally. Some of these are directly involved in designing the experiment to test the hypotheses required by the project. The following steps are generally used in conducting a research project.

When most people think of ethics (or morals), they think of rules for distinguishing between right and wrong, such as the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"), a code of professional conduct like the Hippocratic Oath ("First of all, do no harm"), a religious creed like the Ten Commandments ("Thou Shalt not kill..."), or a wise aphorisms like the sayings of Confucius. This is the most common way of defining "ethics": norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

Primary research involves collecting data about a given subject directly from the real world. This section includes information on what primary research is, how to get started, ethics involved with primary research and different types of research you can do. It includes details about interviews, surveys, observations, and analysis.